This invention relates to a paint brush cover and more specifically to a paint brush cover adapted to protect the paint brush from contact with paint or paint thinner, with the exception of the bristle portion of the brush.
Generally a paint brush is formed from bristles, a bristle mounting, a metal ferrule which covers the bristle mounting and a handle which is attached to or comprises a one piece construction with the bristle mounting. After a paint brush is used, it is washed in a thinner such as water or mineral spirits and then is reused. It is common practice to insert a nail into the wooden portion of the handle adjacent the ferrule and to bend the nail so that the brush can be hung on the lip of a container containing the thinner or paint when the brush is not in use. When the brush is hung for excessive times in the thinner, it is common that the thinner will accumulate in the volume surrounded by the metal ferrule and the bristle mounting.
It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,130,759 to utilize a metal paint brush cover which is fit around the paint brush handle adjacent the ferrule portion of the brush. The cover is not fit to contact the entire ferrule but is shaped in the form of a cup whereby a space is formed between the cover and the ferrule in order to retain excess paint or thinner which may have been accepted by the brush. The cover is provided with a hook so that the paint brush can be hung from the edge of a container for paint or thinner. Since the paint brush handle is not a precisionally made component, the variation in size and shape of a paint brush handle for a given standard size paint brush will vary. Given this fact and the fact that a paint brush cover is made of a metal which is relatively inflexible, leakages will occur from the volume within the paint brush cover onto the handle which will cause caking of paint on the handle. This is undesirable since it makes the brush heavier due to the cumulative effect of caking paint and since the brush is used for different colored paint, colors from the paint on the handle will be deposited during subsequent use with a different colored paint. The problem of leakage is particularly acute with thinner since thinner is a far less viscous liquid than paint. The thinner will accumulate in the space between the bristle holder and the ferrule by being passed into the space by capillary action when the paint brush is hung into the thinner. Thus, when the position of the brush is reversed so that the brush is positioned above the handle, the thinner will leak past the ferrule onto the handle and will not be stopped by the cover since the metal cover can not be precisely fit onto the handle portion adjacent the ferrule. In addition, since the handle is exposed, inevitably, it will be coated with excess paint due to splattering or dripping from the painted area or through other means such as by accidental overdipping of the paint brush into the paint. Thus, inevitably, the handle will be caked with paint and the brush must be discarded.
It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,733,471 to utilize a rubber paint brush cover which fits around the ferrule portion of the paint brush adjacent the handle. The paint brush cover is provided with fingers so that the cover is angled away from the ferrule to form a volume between the ferrule and the paint brush cover into which excess paint or paint thinner can be retained. The handle of the brush is maintained exposed in order to prevent interference with conventional use of the brush. However, since paint inevitably splatters or drips during use of the paint brush from sources other than the bristles, the handle of the brush inevitably becomes covered with paint, and, for the reasons set forth above, the paint brush must be discarded.
Various brush covers are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,392; 860,527; 1,501,020; 1,720,868; 2,237,969; 2,485,068; 2,958,087; 3,106,738; 3,193,863; 3,968,950 and 4,001,909.
It would be desirable to provide a paint brush cover which protects the brush handle from being coated with paint and which prevents excess thinner retained by the brush from spilling onto the user during use of the paint brush. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide such a brush which does not interfere with the conventional use of the brush or which actually improves the conventional use of the brush.